


Love Hurts

by SeventeensOneBraincell



Series: Soulmate AUs Except [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Hanahaki Disease, I'm so sorry, It's just meanie being idiots, M/M, Office AU, Soulmate AU, cactus, i hope you at least like it, idk what this is, meanie, um
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:20:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24602257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeventeensOneBraincell/pseuds/SeventeensOneBraincell
Summary: A Hanahaki Disease au except Wonwoo doesn't have a favorite flower, per se, but rather a favorite plant, and Mingyu is getting really tired of coughing up cacti.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Series: Soulmate AUs Except [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778461
Comments: 21
Kudos: 132





	Love Hurts

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series and I hope you enjoy this and the other ones, they'll be coming soon <3

Mingyu had heard of Hanahaki disease. Who hadn’t? He just never thought that he’d _develop_ it. Especially not for the tall, relatively clumsy, legally blind man in accounting. The man that always had at least six cacti on his desk, if not more. The man that _never_ looked anywhere but his plants or his computer screen, therefore didn’t know that Mingyu even existed. Mingyu wasn’t sure that him developing Hanahaki was fair, the love wasn’t exactly unrequited, Wonwoo just didn’t know that Mingyu existed. 

Mingyu didn’t work in the same department as Wonwoo, but the two each sat on the edges of their department borders in the larger office space, so they were relatively close to each other. Mingyu probably lost track of time and zoned out on the back of Wonwoo’s head 15 times a day, most likely more. He just couldn’t understand, how was it that the man never looked outside of his cubicle?

Mingyu was sitting in the break room, head propped up on his hands as he poked at his reheated food with his fork. He had a small chest ache, which he attributed to having reheated food from two weeks ago, but there was nothing else to eat. It was only when the chest pain grew, spreading like flames up his throat and searing through his stomach that he began to worry, chest heaving as he had the sudden urge to cough. He felt something come dislodged from his throat, looking at where it had fallen to see a fair-sized chunk of what appeared to be a cactus.

From his throat.

A cactus.

Mingyu’s hand shot up to his throat, gingerly feeling the area that felt as though a thousand tiny needles had scraped against it. Because, well, they had. His coworker, Hansol, raised an eyebrow at the cactus on the table, looking at Mingyu in alarm.

“Did you just cough that up?”

“Yes? I think?”

“ _How_?”

“I don’t know! I was just eating and then-” The door to the lunch room swung open as Wonwoo stepped inside, gaze locked onto the tiny plant that he held in his hands. He stepped towards the sink, watering the cactus in his grasp, and Mingyu couldn’t help but notice the striking resemblance between the plant in Wonwoo’s hands and the plant that had just come flying out of his own throat. 

Wonwoo left just as quickly as he’d come, shutting the door behind him, and Hansol dissolved into laughter.

“You loser! Now you’re gonna be coughing up cacti until he notices you!”

“Stop it! I can’t keep coughing up cacti! It hurts, it burns really bad! I thought Hanahaki was supposed to be their favorite flower?”

“Dunno. Guess you’re just lucky.” Hansol stood up from the table, throwing his paper plate into the garbage and picking up the chunk of cactus still laying on the table.

“You should plant it and give it to him, then he’ll know you exist.”

“Hansol, I just choked on it and then vomited it, I don’t think I should be giving it to him as a present.”

“Okay, well then buy a new one! There’s this little plant store by my apartment, you can buy a little one there.”

“Plant store? I don’t think that’s what they’re called.” Mingyu mused, taking the cactus from Hansol and chucking it in the garbage. 

“Whatever. I’m giving you a ride home anyways, remember? Your car is in the shop, I’ll take you there first and then to get your car.”

“I can’t just give him a plant out of the blue! What kind of stalker does that?”

“One who doesn't want to keep puking cacti.” 

Hansol had a point. Mingyu sighed, mumbling an agreement and checking his wallet to make sure that he had enough cash to buy a plant. They couldn’t be too expensive, anyways.

—

“Your total is fifteen dollars and thirty-eight cents, sir.”

“What?! For this?” Mingyu held up the tiny cactus he’d picked out, no bigger than his finger at this stage. The pot was bigger than the cactus.

“They grow, you know. It’s not gonna be that small forever.” The lady behind the counter glared at Mingyu who pulled out his wallet, grumbling as he handed over a few bills and some change.

Mingyu slid back into the passenger’s seat of Hansol’s car, cactus grasped tightly in his hands, “This thing cost me over fifteen dollars.”

“For _that_?!”

“That’s what i said. Jesus, Wonwoo already has so many, how does he afford rent?”

“Dunno.” Silence filled the car as Mingyu stared down at the cactus, trying to envision how giving it to Wonwoo would go tomorrow. He barely got through the hypothetical introductions before the pain in his chest was back, and another succulent came flying out of Mingyu’s throat. Hansol let out a shout, barely controlling his hands on the wheel as the plant was launched into the dashboard, finally skidding to a stop.

“Another one?”

“I was thinking about him.” Mingyu blushed, “I mean, about how I was gonna explain myself tomorrow. What I’d say.”

“Well for our safety, while I’m driving, could you _not_ think about him?”

Mingyu hummed, trying to fill his head with thoughts of _anything_ else.

—

Mingyu’s hands were sweaty and shaking as he walked up to Wonwoo’s desk the next day. He really didn’t think that it would be this nerve-wracking. If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t have mattered. But it was Wonwoo.

Mingyu stood awkwardly in the doorway to Wonwoo’s cubicle, wondering how to get the man’s attention so that he’d turn around and see Mingyu standing there. Mingyu felt pain start to blossom in his chest and he jolted forwards, tapping Wonwoo on the shoulder.

Wonwoo started, hand flying up to rest over his heart before he exhaled shakily, swiveling his chair around to meet Mingyu’s eyes.

“Yes?” One of Wonwoo’s eyebrows was raised, practically taunting Mingyu.

“Uhm, plant.” God dammit.

Wonwoo glanced around the office, wondering if he was hallucinating the man standing in front of him, “What?”

“I mean, I just noticed that you seemed to like plants, so I figured I’d bring you one. A plant. As a gift.”

“As a… what? Do you even know my name?”

“Yes!” Mingyu sounded very desperate, “We work practically right next to each other! I just noticed that well, I dunno, you don’t really talk to anyone, and so I was gonna try and talk to you, but then I saw that you like plants so I thought I’d bring you one!” Mingyu’s words were rushed towards the end, arms tensing and practically retracting into his body.

“Oh. You.. you bought me a plant?”

“Mhm!” Mingyu held the pot out, proudly showcasing the tiny succulent inside.

“Ah, it’s barely grown. Cute.” Wonwoo spoke without thinking, cheeks ablaze when he realized how strange it must have sounded.

“I’m glad you like it. How many do you even have?”

Wonwoo turned around again in his chair, quickly counting the plants, those that Mingyu could see, and those that he couldn’t.

“In here? Twelve. That’ll be thirteen.” Mingyu’s eyes widened but he held out the plant regardless, watching as Wonwoo slid the pot into a small cluster on his left. They seemed to be arranged in some sort of order, though Mingyu felt as though only Wonwoo knew what order that was. Four on the right, five at the front, and now four on the left. Maybe it was by the type of plant? 

“Well um, thank you. I don’t think I caught your name?” Wonwoo let his elbow rest on the desk beside him, looking up at Mingyu through his glasses. 

“Ah, Mingyu. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. But how did you know my name?”

“Uh,” Mingyu stalked as he tried his best to come up with any explanation rather than _I’m in love with you_ , which would probably only bring the chest pain back, “The sign here! I pass it on my way to lunch every day, just realized we’ve never really talked.” Mingyu tapped a finger on the gold plated name tag that was mounted on the wall of Wonwoo’s cubicle.

“Ah, okay. Well, um, thank you again Mingyu.”

“Of course! I’ll see you around!”

Wonwoo nodded, a soft smile playing on his lips as he turned back to his desk. He let his eyes linger on the baby succulent sitting amongst his other plants, then shook his head and got back to work.

—

Mingyu thought it might get easier the second time around. Standing at Wonwoo’s cubicle, another fifteen dollar ~~rip-off~~ plant clutched in his sweaty hands. But it didn’t.

“Knock knock,” He actually _said_ ‘knock knock’, cringing the moment it came out of his mouth. Wonwoo turned, eyes wide as he experienced the same deja vu Mingyu was feeling.

“Hello Mingyu.”

“Hi, um, I brought another one.” 

“Oh. Thank you, by the way. For the plants. They’re cute.”

“Of course! Of course, I’m glad you like them!” Mingyu let silence fall for a moment as Wonwoo took the plant, realizing that there was no more room on his desk, and sitting it by a briefcase on the floor. To take home, maybe?

Mingyu’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally spoke, “Hey, I was wondering, did you um…” Mingyu lost all sense of words when Wonwoo met his eyes, stuttering until he found out how to speak again, “It’s lunchtime. Did you want to go out and, um, maybe get something to eat?”

“Oh, well, I kinda don’t eat lunch most days, so-“ Wonwoo was cut off when a balled up piece of paper flew over his cubicle wall, smacking him in the head. He sighed, uncrumpling it and squinting at the writing on the post-it.

_You idiot, he’s asking you out. ~ Jihoon_

Oh.

“-But, I mean, I’m getting kinda hungry, so why not?” Wonwoo sprang up from his desk, cheeks heating up when he stood just a _little_ too close to Mingyu.

Mingyu stumbled backwards, barely catching himself before he tipped over and using the wall of Wonwoo’s cubicle to keep himself upright. 

“Uh, sorry. I’ll just- here.” Wonwoo turned, grabbing his wallet and shoving it in his pocket.

“Oh no, I can-“ Mingyu reached into his pocket for his own wallet, though there was a good chance that thirty dollars worth of cacti had emptied it.

“No, no, it’s okay! You bought me plants, I can buy lunch.”

Mingyu let Wonwoo have the last word, wondering if there was any way he could slide the cashier money before Wonwoo could. Probably not.

The two strode into the elevator together, both realizing that they had no idea how to make conversation.

“So um, did you want to go down to the little bakery? Across the street? They have good pasta.”

Wonwoo hummed nodding as he stared intensely at the elevator walls. He _really_ was not good at this.

Silence suffocated the pair in the elevator until the bell dinged and the doors slid open. Both Mingyu and Wonwoo stepped forward, bumping shoulders and then stepping back, gesturing for the other to go before them.

“No, it’s okay, you can go!” Mingyu felt his cheeks burn, mentally cursing himself for going first, why did he try? That wasn’t polite. Wonwoo was beating himself up over the same thing, finally giving in and rushing through the now-closing doors before they could fully shut. 

The two fell into step beside each other, Mingyu’s eyes drifting as far sideways as they could without him having to turn his head and Wonwoo’s eyes seeking out any possible distraction. The skyline, a bird on the street, then the sign of the bakery that they were headed towards.

Mingyu stepped quickly towards the door, grabbing the handle and pulling it open. He stepped behind the paneled glass, letting Wonwoo stride in first. There, he’d fixed his mistake.

Mingyu let the door shut behind him and trailed Wonwoo to the counter, standing behind him as they waited for their turns. A cashier came forward and ushered Wonwoo to the register, leaving Mingyu standing as the next person in line.

He watched Wonwoo order while waiting for his own cashier, foot tapping a soft rhythm on the tiled floor below it. Mingyu heard the cashier ask if he needed anything else and Wonwoo frowned, looking behind him and realizing that Mingyu wasn’t there. Wonwoo’s eyes widened as he held a finger up to the cashier, dashing back over to where Mingyu stood and grabbing the man’s hand, tugging him back to the counter. 

“He’s, um, he’s with me. Go ahead Mingyu.”

Mingyu’s face was on fire as he frantically tried remembering what it was that he normally ordered from that bakery. He said _something_ , hopefully it was his normal order, and barely managed to pull out his wallet and slide a bill over the counter before Wonwoo could do it himself.

“Wait no! I can, um, here.” Wonwoo handed the cashier a bill directly, sliding Mingyu’s back over the counter towards him.

“No! Here, take mine.” Both men now held bills out to the cashier, the poor, very confused cashier who pushed both of their hands back towards them.

“How about, I charge you at the end of your meal, so that you have some time to negotiate.”

Both men mumbled agreements, Wonwoo realizing that he still had a firm hold on Mingyu’s hand. He blushed scarlet, dropping Mingyu’s hand as though it were a bomb liable to go off at a moment’s notice. Mingyu’s hand was cold the moment it wasn’t in Wonwoo’s anymore, and he swallowed deep before he reached up again and took Wonwoo’s hand in his. 

Wonwoo said nothing, ducking his head down and letting Mingyu pull him towards a table. They sat, both thinking of pulling a chair out for the other but neither acting on it. 

The men let the chatter of the cafe drown out any of what could have possibly been said between them, before Mingyu felt the familiar burn in his chest.

“Ah, I’ll be right back. I’m going to, um, go to the restroom.” Mingyu stood hastily, nearly knocking his chair back in the process.

“No! Wait, Mingyu, I’m sorry! Please, sit down. I know I’m not, um, _talkative_ , but don’t just leave.”

“That’s not-“ Mingyu suppressed his cough, feeling the plant on the verge of coming out of his throat. It felt different from the first few. A little less sharp.”-that’s not what I meant, I swear. I just need to-“ Another cough and the plant was physically in Mingyu’s mouth, barely contained as he pressed his lips together.

“Mingyu, I can tell, you’re not very subtle about it. Just, just give me a chance to get comfortable. That’s all I need, I swear.”

Mingyu’s face was burning as he felt what would be _the_ cough coming on, the one that would expose him to the entire restaurant, including Wonwoo. But he couldn’t just leave, instead waving his hands at Wonwoo as he backed towards the restroom, chest heaving as he tried keeping the plant in. Wonwoo’s eyes were wide, but whether they were wide with desperation or confusion Mingyu wasn’t sure. He didn’t have time to find out, before he was sprinting for the bathroom and hunching over the sink. 

He let himself cough, the succulent falling into the sink and finally tearing free from his throat, leaving a trail of fire where it scraped along his insides. He swore under his breath, letting himself breathe unobstructed for a moment before he went back out. He failed to see Wonwoo standing in the doorway, not noticing him until he accidentally let the door slam.

Mingyu jolted, spinning around and leaning back on the sink so that Wonwoo wouldn’t be able to see the plant sitting inside of it. But Wonwoo had been standing there for too long, eyes darting between Mingyu’s face and the little reflection of the succulent in the sink that he could see from the mirror.

“It’s not-“

“ _Mingyu._ ”

“I swear, I was trying to-“

“When were you going to tell me?”

Mingyu sighed, “I don’t know. I was hoping it wouldn’t last long.”

“Does it… does it hurt?”

“Very much.” Mingyu tried swallowing, wincing when his throat burned.

“Jesus Christ. Listen, um,” Wonwoo brought a hand up to cup the back of his neck, feeling heat spread to his ears, “I, well, now I know what you were trying to do. You should have just _told_ me, I would have tried to help!”

Mingyu spun around, picking up the small succulent from the sink and noticing that it looked different from the previous ones that he’d seen come up. This one looked oddly familiar, and it was with a slight increase in his heart rate that Mingyu realized it was identical to the one that he’d gifted Wonwoo the day before.

“It’s.. it’s the one I-“

“Yeah. Um, well, do you want to go back out and eat?”

“I don’t think I can. Listen, if you don’t want to, well, deal with this, I understand. I’m sure it’s not everyday someone starts puking cacti for you.” Wonwoo winced at the imagery, shaking his head.

“No, I, uh,” Wonwoo squeezes his eyes shut, “I’d like to try. I don’t exactly want this to keep happening. So I’ll try. But, I just, I don’t know. There’s no guarantees. And I don't want you to-“

“It’s okay! I understand! All I want is to try.” 

Each man smiled softly, standing around for a moment before ducking back out into the restaurant, ordering soup for Mingyu and praying that it didn’t happen again while he was trying to eat. And thankfully, it didn’t happen while they were eating, in fact, it never happened again.


End file.
